1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holster safety snap assembly utilized to retain a weapon within a holster and be substantially quick and easy to release for the weapon user, but substantially difficult to release by unwanted users attempting to steal or otherwise unnoticeably remove the weapon from the holster.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gun holsters, particularly those used by police officers, are generally adapted with a strap assembly which retains the weapon within the holster until released by the police officer. The strap of the holster can be held in place over the weapon in many ways, but often, a snap assembly using matingly disposed male and female snap members is utilized. For example, a common type of snap assembly utilizes uni-directional snaps between the holster and the strap, wherein a "thumb break" protruding from the strap is used to disengage the snaps when it is pushed towards the body of the person wearing the holster on a gun belt. More particularly, the strap in such devices will normally be snapped to an interior side of the holster, with the "thumb break" protruding upwardly for easy access such that the police officer or other person wearing the holster can quickly push the "thumb break" towards the body, thereby releasing the snap, to remove the weapon. With this type of device, an individual attempting to remove the weapon from the holster will need to push the "thumb break" towards the body of the police officer, which will be noticeable to the officer. Unfortunately, this assembly is not always effective for providing maximum safety, especially in physical situations or crowded areas. The quick, obvious steps which must be performed by an unwanted user to release the snap and remove the gun often may not give a police officer sufficient time to react. Further, because the "thumb break" is readily visible and accessible, unwanted users know the precise location on the officer's holster that they need to reach for when attempting to maneuver quickly and remove the weapon from the holster.
For this reason, numerous attempts have been made in the past to provide holsters for guns which offer increased safety in terms of a) keeping the weapon within the holster, b) making it difficult for an unwanted person to remove the weapon, while at the same time, c) allowing the wearer to quickly remove the weapon from the holster in case of an emergency. One attempt at such a device includes utilizing snaps on the holster which must be particularly aligned if they are to open. Unfortunately, while being effective to slow down a thief, such a device will also unnecessarily slow down a police officer who must focus his attention on the holster, wasting precious time to precisely align the "thumb break" such that the snaps will be properly oriented and releasable. Still other devices have attempted to conceal the "thumb break" by making it smaller so as to conceal it behind the holster while simultaneously positioning a fake "thumb break" which is really riveted to an exterior of the holster instead of snapped thereto. Unfortunately, while these designs conceal the true "thumb break" from a thief, they also are difficult to access by the person wearing the holster. A problem exists with all of these systems in that they employ a single "thumb break" and if a thief or other individual succeeds in accessing the "thumb break" he may easily remove the weapon
Still other holster designs utilize more than one strap over the weapon. For example, in one such design, the primary strap is released utilizing the "thumb break" and then, a second strap must be disengaged by a forward, rolling movement of the weapon which requires that the barrel of the weapon be pointed rearwardly. This technique, however, is dangerous and ineffective as it requires an officer to point his gun barrel backwards rather than forwards and in a protective way upon removal of the weapon from the holster.
Accordingly, it would be highly beneficial to provide an assembly which will substantially increase the safety of maintaining a weapon within a holster such that it will be difficult for an unwanted user to remove the weapon quickly, yet which is quickly and easily accessible to a police officer or other person wearing a holster who must remove the weapon quickly in an emergency situation.
The safety snap assembly is designed precisely to provide such an accessible and easy opening snap assembly which nonetheless provides substantially increased security and safety by making it difficult for an unwanted user to release the snaps quickly and unnoticeably. Further, it would be highly beneficial to provide a security snap assembly which could be adapted for effective use on a variety of other containers such as a purse, briefcase, or knife sheath.